Match-Fixing Trial Splits Turkey

Case Over Dozens Indicted for Alleged Graft in Multi-Billion-Dollar League Exposes Divisions in Government, Society

By

Joe Parkinson

February 16, 2012

ISTANBUL—The trial of almost 100 Turkish soccer bosses and players began on Tuesday following an unprecedented probe into match-fixing allegations that have gripped the nation and exposed divisions at the highest echelons of Turkey's government.

ENLARGE

Fans of Turkish soccer team Fenerbahce shout slogans in support of its president, Aziz Yildirim, in front of a court where his trial began Tuesday.
European Pressphoto Agency

At the courthouse outside Istanbul, more than 1,000 fans of Turkish league champions Fenerbahce chanted slogans in support of the 93 suspects, including their club's president, Aziz Yildirim. The investigation, which kicked off nearly nine months ago, led to a wave of arrests in the summer after police became convinced that at least 19 first- and second-division matches were fixed during the 2010-11 season.

The nationwide probe has plunged the country's multibillion-dollar league into chaos, and dominated headlines here for months. In December the scandal reached the corridors of power, stirring rare dissent in the ruling Justice and Development Party, as President Abdullah Gul broke ranks with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to ask lawmakers to stick to tougher punishments for those convicted in the case, before abandoning his position.

The trial also comes as Turkey's legal system faces mounting international scrutiny for several broad-based investigations launched by Turkish prosecutors into alleged terror networks that have led to the arrest of thousands. Many Turks see the move as a battle for control of the country's key institutions. Last week, a furor erupted when a special prosecutor summoned Turkey's intelligence chief to testify in a probe of Kurdish rebels, prompting the government to introduce emergency legislation to block the move.

As the match-fixing trial got under way Tuesday, presiding Judge Mehmet Ekinci stressed that the investigations were aimed solely at the defendants, rather than the institutions they represented. "We are not trying sports here, we're not trying the clubs here; all of them have been precious to us for decades. All we are going to do is to make the trial based on the indictment," Judge Ekinci said.

Mr. Yildirim, wearing a blue suit and tie in Fenerbahce's trademark blue-and-yellow colors, pledged to "throw myself off a bridge," if corruption charges against him were proved, and promised to make explosive claims in court as the trial progressed, according to Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency. Mr. Yildirim, who is one of 23 suspects still incarcerated on the most serious charges, had previously threatened to expose secrets that would "shake Turkey."

Turkish television showed clusters of blue-and-yellow-clad Fenerbahce supporters outside the courthouse, who could be heard chanting "set Aziz free and take us," and "Fenerbahce is the greatest; the last fortress not to fall."

The trial was being held at the courthouse-prison complex in the town of Silivri, 70 kilometers outside Istanbul, which has become infamous for housing Turkish generals and journalists accused of plotting coups in high-security prisons.

Turkey's match-fixing scandal isn't an isolated case. Soccer corruption scandals last year also tarnished leagues in Italy, Greece, Finland and Israel even though Union of European Football Associations, Europe's ruling body known as UEFA, spent millions investigating cases in which players and referees were allegedly bribed, and improving the monitoring of betting syndicates.

But Turkey's scandal, which erupted in July when police raids led to the detention of dozens of people, stands out because of its scale.

The probe has implicated a swath of Turkey's top clubs, but Fenerbahce, the most decorated soccer team in Turkish history and Turkey's 2011 Super League title winners, has attracted more charges than any other club.

A total of 13 people associated with the club have been indicted, from Mr. Yildirim to foreign-born players, along with coaches, and even one of the club's language interpreters. The indictment issued in December charged Mr. Yildirim with being a gang leader, among charges ranging from match-fixing to paying bribes.

UEFA has said it will watch the court case closely, having increased pressure on Turkey's Football Federation to sanction clubs involved in the match-fixing scandal and threatened to exclude Turkish clubs from European competitions.

Turkey's Football Federation in August excluded Fenerbahce from UEFA's Champions League competition this year, with runners-up Trabzonspor taking their place. But the federation has subsequently failed to broker a deal on further disciplinary measures.

It is not just soccer club bosses and players who have been ensnared in the scandal. The failure to agree on further sanctions last month forced the resignation of Turkish football federation chief Mehmet Ali Aydinlar and his two deputies.

In December, Turkish lawmakers adopted an amendment designed to soften sentencing guidelines introduced earlier in the year to punish those found guilty of corruption in football. The new law was meant to reduce the maximum sentence for defendants found guilty of match-fixing to three years from 12. Mr. Gul asked lawmakers to stick to the tougher sanctions but signed it after lawmakers loyal to Mr. Erdogan refused to revise the law.

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